Saturday, June 1, 2013

Political Corruption, Iraqi terrorist plot, Sectarianism

Three topics today... 

1) A press sting (apparently substantiated by some pretty damning video) appears to show a senior UK Member of Parliament taking money in return for official actions. These include the MP asking official questions in the House of Commons and even offering a parliamentary security pass to lobbyists. This is sickening. It speaks to two realities - First, that the UK desperately needs a register of lobbyists- at present, they quietly permeate the UK politics. Second, that far tougher legal restrictions are required to prevent ''money for favor'' arrangements. This is corruption. Period. Sadly, this news suggests that the UK Parliament retains a sub-surface cesspool.

2) If true, Iraq's disruption of a terrorist chemical weapons plot indicates the serious continuing terrorist threat faced by the United States. President Obama might have declared an end to the war on terror, unfortunately however, our enemies have not. On a related note, I hope to have a piece on Iraq published in the next few days - stay tuned.

3) al-Qaradawi's call to arms indicates the growing sectarian frictions underpinning Middle Eastern political dynamics. I've previously argued that this sectarianism is the greatest enemy of the people of that region. Alongside growing nuclear proliferation, this dynamic will soon pose a severe threat to international security.

No comments:

Post a Comment